Columnists

A psychiatric condition by itself doesn't necessarily make a person "disabled." Millions of Americans suffer from depression or other conditions, and often they do not wish to see a doctor for it. Usually, they can work, interact, and function in society despite their condition. For some, the mental condition contrarily makes them do better. Depression can cause a person to try harder. Eventually the person is taking refuge within effort. This creates a workaholic who often does better in life than someone who is more balanced. The depressed, driven person may feel miserable, but they may end up with more achievements. -more-

Do you continually say to yourself or to others something that amounts to "Help, poor me"? It doesn't matter. Because if you look deeper than that, you might be able to find an area of consciousness which looks at that as though you are watching yourself as an actor or actress in a movie, and you are blissfully enjoying the show, and barely, if at all, involved in the plight of the actors, including the protagonist, you. -more-

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l If you're confused by the state of the US economy, you're not alone. Market watchers know that stocks are sending confusing signals. Some "experts" say we are in a recovery, other predict big problems. In August, consumer sentiment (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/consumer-confidence ) hit a decade low. The unemployment rate is falling but tens of thousands of workers are leaving the labor market. What's happening?

Duh: we're in the middle of a civil war.

Thankfully, so far it's a non-shooting civil war. Nonetheless, it's a civil war marked by two vectors: one is the millions of folks who insist that the orange menace won the 2020 presidential election; they're more interested in creating chaos than a better world. The second is the millions of Americans who refuse to get vaccinated: They are leaving and aggravating the labor market. (By the way, these populations overlap.) -more-

Trader Joe's

The staff at the TJs outlet in downtown Berkeley got October off to a rousing start with "Spirit Week!!!"—a weeklong costume competition during which the TJ's staff showed up for work outfitted to meet seven different dress-up themes. Monday was "Crazy Socks Day," followed by Hawaiian Shirts Day, Pajamas Day, Pirates Day, Fun Pants Day, Sports Gear Day and, finally Superheroes Day. -more-